Wedderburn 1 Latavia Wedderburn College Writing Mrs Lago 12/17/13 Pregnancy Complications Ever since I can remember, I wanted

to become an obstetrician. Not because of the money, but because of the actual field. Something about child birth and pregnancy catches my interest and knowing that Im able to help bring a new life into this world warms my heart. So avoiding any complications that comes with doing that job is a must. Throughout life Ive learned many things involving birth defects, but the main focus was on who this defect was happening with. Meaning what type of mothers was more prone to having complications than others. Knowing this, I knew would aid me in the field I wanted to obtain and also as a woman myself who is looking to being a mother in the mere future. From the book, High risk pregnancy, studies have shown that the optimal age for childbearing is between twenty and thirty years, with a steadily increasing risk of prenatal mortality (Knuppel 346). Meaning that between those ages its safer and less likely to have complications during birth. I decided to test out their study, so I did a little survey of my own. I went to the mall and asked ten mothers under twenty, ten mothers over thirty, and ten mothers between those ages. Based on a survey Ive conducted Ive learned that six out of ten mothers that where under the age of twenty had some difficulties with their pregnancies, eight out of ten mothers older than thirty had complications with their pregnancy and eight of ten mothers between those ages had normal pregnancies. From the little survey I concocted it proves that statistics of pregnancy complications women ages are in fact true. From my knowledge most of

Wedderburn 2 those women that were in my survey were unaware of the risks. Women today need to be educated on this certain subject because during pregnancy it not only affects the baby, but the mother as well. The toughest obstacle for a woman to surpass is pregnancy. There are countless hitches that can arise before and during the process of birth. There is no clear distinction between complications of pregnancy, symptoms and discomforts of pregnancy, but throughout the nine month process the baby as well as the mother carrying it, is at great risk. Many individuals feel for the duration of pregnancy, the baby alone is affected if something goes wrong, but the carrier is also at risk. My cousin who is now a nurse once told me, Women have a fifty-fifty percent chance of survival during pregnancy without complications, so imagine there chances with it. Even though this doesnt apply to all the woman of any ages thats trying or are pregnant, it doesnt hurt to get an insight on the situation because it can be useful in the long run. As I stated before, not every woman falls under the category of life statistics. Meaning not every young or old woman is going to have complications at birth. For instance my sister had my niece two years ago, when she was eighteen years old. Statistics shows that she would were prone to complications due to the fact that she was under the age of conception. I stayed in the room with her the entire time during her daughters birth and not once were there any form of complication. My niece came out healthy and my sister had a normal pregnancy. So there are exceptions to every rule. Even though my sister was an exception, that doesnt mean she shouldnt be educated about the risk that still might occur if she choose to have children in the future.

Wedderburn 3 For woman at the age that can cause prenatal mortality needs to know how risky it is. They need to realize that if they get pregnant theyre going to be responsible for their lives as well as the unborn baby. They need to keep in mind the harm that can come to them having a baby at this age and the complications that leans towards the baby. Does one have the heart to take that chance? Research shows that four recurring causes account for more than half of all infant deaths such as birth defects, disorders related to short gestation and preterm birth, maternal complications of pregnancy including complications of the placenta, cord and membranes and sudden infant death syndrome. In recent years some causes of infant mortality have increased, particularly in the percentage of births that were preterm and of low birth weight which were caused from the conception age of the mother (Anderson). Having a child at a young or even an old age can have mind blowing results that some people arent strong enough to bare. Can one bear the thought of this happening to their child?

Wedderburn 4 Work Cited Knuppel, Robert A., and Joan E Drukker. High-risk Pregnancy: A Team Approach. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Saunders, 1993 Anderson, J. E., Ebrahim, S., Floyd, L., & Atrash, H. (2006). Prevalence of risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes during pregnancy and the preconception period--united states, 2002-2004. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 10, 101-6. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10995006-0093-z